Louis Vuitton will stage its cruise 2025 show in Barcelona on May 23, kicking off a wide-ranging collaboration with the Spanish city.
The destination runway event, showcasing the latest collection by Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women’s collections at Vuitton since 2013, will be held in tandem with an exhibition, cultural activations and educational programs.
Consider all that a warm-up to sailing’s biggest event, the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, scheduled for Aug. 22 to Oct. 27 in Barcelona, situated on the Mediterranean Coast.
Pietro Beccari, chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton, noted that the luxury brand and Barcelona share common values “that are deeply anchored into a remarkable heritage and the passion for creativity.”
He added that the cruise show, the upcoming Louis Vuitton Cup and the 37th America’s Cup will undoubtedly “capture Louis Vuitton’s longstanding relationship with Barcelona and the Catalan region in the most ultimate way.”
The races — often described as the Formula 1 of the sea — are to take place around Barcelona’s Port Vell and along the beach to Port Olímpic.
The complete slate of events includes several preliminary regattas, the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup and the main events: the Louis Vuitton Cup and the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.
Five challengers in the Louis Vuitton Cup regattas — Ineos Britannia, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, NYYC American Magic and Orient Express Racing — will battle it out on the water to face off with “defender” Emirates Team New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Barcelona.
Vuitton will kick off its Spanish hospitality with the cruise show, and in tandem will launch its City Guide for Barcelona via a pop-up kiosk and event. The educational programs, still being defined, are to support creativity and design in the city.
Vuitton has yet to reveal the venue for the cruise show, though Ghesquière typically selects an architectural marvel as a transporting backdrop for his resort shows.
Last year he chose Isola Bella, the small Italian island on Lake Maggiore that has been owned by the Borromeo family for some four centuries.
Over the years, Vuitton cruise shows have taken place at locations including the Bob Hope estate by John Lautner in Palm Springs, Calif.; Brazil’s otherworldly Museum of Contemporary Art Niterói by Oscar Niemeyer; Kyoto’s Miho Museum by Ieoh Ming Pei; the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence by Josep Lluís Sert, and the TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in New York by Eero Saarinen.
Vuitton and Barcelona go way back. Founded in 1854, the historic trunkmaker participated in the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. George Vuitton, son of founder Louis, received a grand prize for his toiletry cases.
The luxury brand opened its first Spanish store in 1987 in Barcelona, and now counts two locations in the Catalan capital, in addition to six leather goods workshops in the region that employ more than 1,800 people.
Destination cruise shows this year include Chanel in Marseille on May 2, Gucci in London on May 13, Balenciaga in Shanghai on May 30 and Max Mara in Venice on June 11. Dior has revealed its show will take place on June 3, but has not disclosed the location.
